“Who am I to judge?”
These words, spoken by Pope Francis in reply to a question about gay priests, may represent a change of direction for the Catholic Church and signal a move away from the censure and moralizing that have come to characterize it. This is something for which many Catholics have long been waiting. Continue reading “Pope Francis and his Prodigal Gay Sons”
Blackfish is a provocative documentary that tells the story of a killer whale that has killed several people at SeaWorld. There’s been an impassioned response to this film by many people, who are now demanding that all killer whales in captivity be freed. The visceral nature of this response is not just because of what is happening to killer whales in captivity and what they are as a species but also, and perhaps more importantly, because it goes to the heart of who we are. Continue reading “Blackfish: Weighing in on the Killer Whale Controversy at SeaWorld.”
The call came in much the way you might imagine:
“Is this David? I’d really like to talk to you about your novel.”
He was a literary agent in New York, who’d just left a large and famous agency to start his own. He was aggressive, connected and smart, which was good — and he really liked my novel, which was better.
We went out for drinks. We signed a contract. We were partners, of sorts, sharing the same dream of getting my novel into the hands of an eager public. At least, that’s what I thought…
I wrote about my experiences with this agent for an Irish writing site in an article called, “I am Tenzing.” Now, you might be thinking, Sir Edmund Hemingway, Tenzing… tell me he didn’t use mountain climbing as a metaphor for getting a book published?
Well, it’s more about the Sherpas, and you can read the article here: ‘I am Tenzing‘
And the novel that is the snow-capped summit of that adventure is available here: THE LAST ISLAND
david hogan 